The Friday after Thanksgiving (Nov 29 this year) is dedicated as National Listening Day. This day was created to encourage family members to interview and listen to each other’s stories. Since many families travel long distances to spend time together over the long Thanksgiving weekend, the Friday after Thanksgiving was determined to be a good day for families to reconnect (after all that Black Friday shopping) and listen to each other’s stories and histories with the help of home care services.

With an aging loved one, it’s more important than ever to hear those stories and if possible, save them somewhere to enjoy for generations to come. While an “interview” may seem a bit formal, intentionally setting aside some time this coming Nov 29 to ask your elderly loved one some questions about their history is a wonderful way to ensure you don’t neglect the importance of knowing your loved one’s history.

 

Home Care Can Help Prepare for the Day

Before you begin, you might want to work with your loved one’s home care providers to help gather photos that may spark conversations or ask your loved one’s home care provider to get those old photo albums out of storage so that your loved one doesn’t have to climb into the attic or pull them down from a bookshelf.

Having your loved one’s home care provider prep her for the interview will also give her time to think about the “good old days” and be ready to provide full stories from years long since gone by.

 

If you are wondering what kind of questions you should ask, here are a few tips to help you get started:

• Ask other family members to help you “interview” your loved one. And don’t forget to ask the grandkids and nieces and nephews. They may have funny questions that will not only delight your loved one but will spark fun and unique insights into how life was when she was growing up.
• Ask open-ended questions. No question should be able to be answered by a simple yes or no. Instead of asking, “Did you have cars when you grew up?” look for questions like “What do cars have now that they didn’t have when you grew up?” or “Where was the first place you remember traveling to in a car?”
• Ask follow-up questions. Once your loved one has answered an interview question, let it spark other questions by either you or other family members. It’s not a homework assignment where the goal is to get as many questions done as quickly as possible. The goal is to get stories that are full of details and memories.
• Record the answers. Whether you choose to use a recording device, have someone take notes, or videotape the “interview,” make sure you have a way to save those answers so that others can enjoy them later.
• Finally, if your loved one gets tired, schedule a time for a second and/or third interview to keep the process rolling and capture those memories of a lifetime.

 

 

 

If you or an aging loved one is considering Home Care in Beverly Hills, CA, please contact the caring staff at Nu Care Inc. today at. 800-505-6890